Search form

Employers aren't doing enough for staff health, claim UK workers

Only a quarter of employers support healthy eating and drinking at work and less than half of all workers believe their employer cares about their mental & physical health…

A new survey by Virgin Pure suggests that not enough is being done by employers to ensure their workers' mental and physical health and wellbeing:

Less than half of British workers (48 per cent) believe their employer cares about both their mental & physical wellbeing

Only a quarter (28 per cent) of workers say their employer offers them support and/or facilities to eat and drink healthily while at work

Over two thirds (68 per cent) say their employer doesn't offer any support or facilities to keep up or increase their physical activity

Half (52 per cent) say that their employer doesn't offer support to ensure their mental wellbeing and positivity

More workers want their employers to provide free or subsidised food and drink than want healthcare insurance and more workers would choose free or subsidised gym membership than they would life insurance.

While food and drink is currently only laid on for 17 per cent of all workers, over a third (36 per cent) would like it offered. 30 per cent of workers would like a good deal on gym membership while only 12 per cent currently receive one. 35 per cent want healthcare insurance and 28 per cent want life insurance.

People who work from home are more likely to feel positive, never take any time off sick and believe that their employers supports and facilitates their mental wellbeing and positivity. Over half (54 per cent) haven't taken a sick day in the past year and nearly a third (29 per cent) said they feel fantastic at work.

Three quarters (74 per cent) of office workers said they feel stressed or tired at work and nearly half (46 per cent) of them want to work from home. Only a fifth (21 per cent) of people who mainly work from home said they weren't offered any support or facilities for their mental wellbeing and positivity, compared to over half (52 per cent) of office workers who said they weren't.

A fifth (19 per cent) of all workers say that they aren't offered any benefits at all by their employer. This rises to 38 per cent for those who work ‘on the road’.

Clearly more needs to be done by employers to ensure their workers' health and wellbeing. Workplace health benefits could lead to a happier, more productive workforce and less workers feeling tired and stressed.

This is a guest blog and may not represent the views of Virgin.com. Please see virgin.com/terms for more details. Thumbnail from gettyimages.